Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Daily Cardinal Est. 1892
Friday, March 29, 2024
Scott Walker

The right-to-work bill, signed into law by Gov. Scott Walker March 9, is contested by Wisconsin labor unions in a lawsuit.

Fresh off national stage, Gov. Scott Walker turns eye toward state problems

Fresh off the national stage, any hopes of Gov. Scott Walker sliding back into his comfortable role as the equal parts loved, reviled and respected governor of America’s Dairyland were dashed by a new poll showing his approval rating at a record low 37 percent.

Unpopularity being new territory for the former Tea Party golden boy, experts and legislators are bracing themselves, as he and his party decide how to respond.

Walker’s approval started spiraling downward in November from a post re-election high of 49 percent. According to UW-Madison journalism professor Michael Wagner, Walker’s year-long flirtation with a presidential bid played a large role.

“The voters who are less likely to approve of Walker now were sort of mad that he was running because they wanted him here governing,” Wagner said. “It seems to have affected the way that some Wisconsinites think of the job he’s doing here.”

Experts assume that the road back to public approval will be difficult.

“He’s gonna have to take some time to convince them that he really is focused on the state and the state’s interests at heart rather than his career,” UW Madison political science professor Barry Burden suggested. “Some of them might not be convinced by that.”

Walker’s press secretary Laurel Patrick did not respond to the poll or say how the administration will address it, but reiterated that the governor will continue “working hard for the people of Wisconsin,” and “push positive reforms focused on improving state government.”

According to Wagner, Walker’s lack of concern for the poll may be intentional. Walker may decide not to run for re-election in 2018, in which case, “he can just do what he wants to do and not really worry about the consequences.”

Walker may no longer feel the pressure to pander to the electorate, but Republican legislators who need to run for re-election do, and they may find the governor’s plummeting popularity unsettling.

“I think Republicans will read the poll in one of two ways,” Burden said. “One reading is that ‘we have pushed too hard in a conservative direction and need to moderate our policies to demonstrate how we empathize with the average voter out there.’ The other reading is that ‘we’ve not presented a stark enough contrast with democrats and that we’ve got to double down on conservative values.’”

Hope for moderation in the Legislature lies in GOP leaders with aspirations on the governor’s mansion who want to be perceived as a “uniter or someone who is trying to heal the rift between the right and the left,” Wagner said.

However, not everyone buys that assessment. After Friday’s proposal to overhaul the nonpartisan Government Accountability Board, some, including Assembly Minority leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, conclude that Republicans have merely moved farther from compromise.

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Daily Cardinal delivered to your inbox

“I find the Republican leadership priorities for the fall session disturbing,” Barca said in a statement Friday.

Support your local paper
Donate Today
The Daily Cardinal has been covering the University and Madison community since 1892. Please consider giving today.
Comments


Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2024 The Daily Cardinal